Blumenthal calls for U.S. to increase humanitarian aid to Syria

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., back from a trip to the Middle East, says the United States should drastically increase humanitarian aid and send it directly to the Syrian Opposition Council to lessen the influence of jihadists and help our allies in Jordan and Turkey.

Last week Blumenthal visited a refugee camp in Jordan and met with the leadership of the Syrian opposition in Egypt, as well as other officials there and in Afghanistan and Israel.

In a press conference with four other Senate colleagues Tuesday in Washington, Blumenthal said the crisis in Syria is "accelerating and exploding" with 650,000 Syrians displaced and more than 60,000 killed in fighting between the rebels and President Bashar al-Assad's forces, an uprising that is now in its second year.

He said America "has a historic obligation and opportunity to match" the contributions that are now burdening Turkey and Jordan.

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Blumenthal said Assad is using the Syrian Air Force "to slaughter and massacre his own people." The senior senator from Connecticut said he hoped the U.S. could do something to "disarm or deflect or diminish" that power, but he does not favor a no-fly zone or sending U.S. troops to the fight.

He said there may be other "feasible and cost effective" ways to help the Syrians, which should be reviewed by the U.S. military and executed as part of a coordinated effort with other countries.

Blumenthal, in an interview after the press conference, said there has been talk of allowing the Turks to use Patriot missiles to create a safety zone adjacent to their border with Syria. He said he is not endorsing any options, all of which should be part of a strategic review by the U.S.

The senator said the conditions for the 42,000 refugees in the Za'atri camp in Jordan were "very desolate and discouraging;" tents were flooded and sanitary facilities are rudimentary. He said the number of children vastly outnumbered the adults in the camp. Blumenthal said most had seen relatives killed, tortured or wounded by Assad's forces.

"Their future is indistinguishable from ours because they are the prey for extremists and jihadists who will eventually attack United States interests," Blumenthal said.

The kind of aid Blumenthal was talking about would include food, medical supplies, health care, clean water, blankets, and heaters for refugees in camps in Jordan and Turkey.

Also at the press conference were U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Christopher Coons, D-Del., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

McCain and Ayotte favor a no-fly zone and more direct military aid. Whitehouse said the Syrian opposition doesn't want help from the jihadists, but he said if they are the only ones providing tangible assistance they could acquire legitimacy. Coons said the Syrians were "deeply puzzled" by the lack of U.S. involvement, while McCain worried about "possible total state failure" and the security of chemical weapons.